Midnight Beauties (Grim Lovelies 2)

Anouk’s eyebrows rose. “What rumors?”

His eyes skimmed over the room, his expression hooded. “A few days ago I was in the stairwell headed to the roof. The Minaret Court was ahead of me. They didn’t know I was just one flight below them. They were gossiping about a traitor. Someone among the Royals who helped make the Court o

f Isles disappear.”

Anouk tried to keep her face still. “Who?”

“They didn’t mention the name.” He paused. “I did overhear one of them say, ‘What do you expect from a boy who shares a roof with witches?’?”

She frowned as she considered this. It was clearly a male and clearly someone who had a close relationship with a witch. Her expression turned dark. “Viggo?”

Luc shook his head. “He wouldn’t. I know him better than that.”

“He isn’t one of us,” Anouk countered, though it made her sick to think about. Viggo was many things, most of them awful, but nevertheless, in the past few weeks he’d become dear to her.

Luc hesitated. “It sounds like a witch’s boy, but it could also be a man who enjoys the company of witches. Someone who was once betrothed to one. Someone who, even at hundreds of years old, would still be considered a boy by the older Royals.”

She leveled a look at him. “You mean Rennar.”

He didn’t deny it.

“You have to find out,” she whispered urgently.

“There’s a princess from the Minaret Court who . . . fancies me. I’ve danced with her, but she hasn’t let anything slip yet. I suspect I’ll have more luck as your wedding celebrations continue and the wine keeps flowing.”

“There you are!” A black-haired princess sidled up to Luc with a grin and rested her hand on his arm. “You’re drinking plain water? How positively monastic of you. Come, let me introduce you to the rest of the Minaret Court.”

Anouk pretended not to know Luc as the princess dragged him away. She turned back to her caged friends. In addition to putting the muzzle on the wolf’s mouth, someone had fastened iron chains to his feet.

“Oh, Hunter Black. Poor thing. I take it from those chains that you’ve been a handful.”

Viggo caught her words as he sauntered over. “Wolf or human, it’s still Hunter Black. Still an irritable bastard.” He patted the top of the cage affectionately. “Rennar insists on keeping him muzzled. There were some accidents . . .” He trailed off. “But naturally he’s tame with me.” Viggo reached through the bars, unbuckled the muzzle, and offered the wolf a turkey leg, but the wolf snapped at his fingers.

“Ow!” He clutched his thumb.

“Yes, he obviously adores you,” Anouk said dryly. She wondered how much Viggo knew about Hunter Black’s true feelings. After the siege of Montélimar, Hunter Black had confessed to Anouk that he was in love with Viggo, and Anouk felt certain Viggo knew it, even if it had never been spoken of between them.

Saint flew overhead and her thoughts circled back to the Coal Baths. Her heart faltered, and she was overcome by the memory of flames and failure. Her legs went weak and she collapsed in a chair. She touched the melted bell around her neck. What a fool. Her mood turned bleak until she felt a presence at her back and turned. Rennar stood with that arrogant expression on his face. He set the box she had dropped on the table.

“What’s this pretty thing?” Viggo said, plucking at the silk spilling out.

Anouk shoved the box away. “Nothing. Rennar, change the cat and the wolf back. I can’t bear to see them like this.” She lowered her voice. “You said we were past games.”

He glanced at the caged animals with little sympathy. “Perhaps I decided to take the game more seriously after I expended every ounce of social capital I had on saving you from the flames.” He motioned to the insanely elaborate party. “But you can still have Cricket. The deal was that I free her and turn her human in exchange for you marrying me.”

“So if I go through with this wedding, you’ll hold up your end of the deal? You’ll turn her back?”

He nodded once.

In a whisper, she said, “We have to agree it will be a strictly political union. That means no romantic entanglements. No wedding night, no ripping each other’s clothes off, no more stolen kisses. After we invoke the Nochte Pax, we’ll be free to fall in love with whoever we want outside of the marriage.”

“Those are rather chaste rules.”

“Do you want a princess or don’t you?”

“Touché.” He handed her a glass of wine. “I don’t like it, but I’ll agree to your terms.” He poured a glass for Viggo too and then motioned with his own glass across the ballroom to the tables where the Lunar and Crimson Courts sat. Prince Aleksi was leaning over his father, a hand on his shoulder as he coughed. Like all the Royals, King Kaspar must have been hundreds of years old, but unlike the others, he actually looked his age. He coughed harder.

Rennar said, “Prince Aleksi and Queen Violante are the only ones on our side, at least for the time being. The Lunar Prince and I have never gotten along, but his father’s illness has put our feud on hold. He’s here because he doesn’t know how else to help his father. And the Crimson Queen . . . Well, as I said, we have a history. The two of them will make certain that the rest of the Royals fall in line with our Nochte Pax invocation.”